Psychoeducational Assessment

The Temecula Center offers a wide range of psychoeducational evaluation services for K-12 students as well as adults. Services range from very brief, focused evaluations to rule out a suspected developmental delay to much more comprehensive evaluations designed to describe an individual’s learning style, strengths, and weaknesses. The types of evaluations offered include the following:

Admissions testing for independent schools
Evaluations to identify or rule out specific learning differences
Evaluations to document eligibility for learning support services in public schools and colleges
Evaluations to aid in the diagnosis of disorders such as attention deficit disorders and developmental disorders
Evaluations to assist families in making school choices
Second opinion or independent evaluations following school-based evaluations
Career assessments

Various instruments are used for these evaluations and the specific ones used will depend on many factors, including the age of the individual, the purpose of the evaluation, and any suspected delays in development. Some of the more commonly used instruments include, but are not limited to, the following:

Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence, 3rd edition (WPPSI-III)
Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children, 4th edition (WISC-IV)
Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale, 4th edition (WAIS-IV)
Wechsler Individual Achievement Test, 2nd edition (WIAT-II)
Woodcock Johnson Tests of Achievement, 3rd edition (WJ-III)
Beery Buktenica Test of Visual-Motor Integration, 5th edition (VMI)
Bender Gestalt, 2nd edition (BG-II)
Test of Auditory Processing Skills, 3rd edition (TAPS-3)
Test of Visual Perceptual Skills, 3rd edition (TVPS-3)
Cognitive Processing Inventory, 5th edition (CPI-5)
Behavioral Assessment System for Children, 2nd edition (BASC-2)
Piers-Harris, 2nd edition (PH-2)
Roberts Apperception Test for Children, 2nd edition (Roberts-2)
Supplemental questionnaires are often completed by parents and teachers, when appropriate, such as standardized measures of attention deficit disorders and social-emotional functioning. These assist the examiner in interpreting test results.

Because the range of evaluations offered at The Temecula Center is so broad, fees for evaluations vary greatly. For example, a comprehensive evaluation to identify specific learning differences will range from $1500 to $2000. Most of these evaluations are not covered by health insurance.

Please note that not only will you receive a summary report as to the findings of the tests, but you will also receive thorough recommendations for intervention if any learning problems are detected. We strongly believe that the purpose of evaluation is intervention.

Psychological tests assess and evaluate information that you give to the examiner, which is why the formal name of psychological testing is psychological assessment. You give this information either in the form of answers to interview questions or as answers on paper—or on a computer—to specific questions. Ultimately, a test’s accuracy depends on how carefully and seriously you answer the questions you’re asked.

Please note that you won’t find copies of any of the standard professional tests online because the tests are copyrighted by the test publishers. Also, for professional reasons, the security of the tests must be maintained, so all mental health professionals are under ethical obligations (enforced by licensing boards) to maintain proper test security.

Achievement and aptitude tests are usually seen in educational or employment settings, and they attempt to measure either how much you know about a certain topic (i.e., your achieved knowledge), such as mathematics or spelling, or how much of a capacity you have (i.e., your aptitude) to master material in a particular area, such as mechanical relationships.

Intelligence tests attempt to measure your intelligence or raw material for learning—that is, your basic ability to understand the world around you, assimilate its functioning, and apply this knowledge to enhance the quality of your life.

Neuropsychological tests attempt to measure deficits in cognitive functioning (i.e., your ability to think, speak, reason, etc.) that may result from some sort of brain damage, such as a stroke or a brain injury.

Occupational tests attempt to match your interests with the interests of persons in known careers. The logic here is that if the things that interest you in life match up with, say, the things that interest most school teachers, then you might make a good school teacher yourself.

Personality tests attempt to measure personality pathology or personality disorders such as antisocial personality disorder or obsessive compulsive personality disorder. These tests are separate and distinct from “personality type” tests such as the Meyer-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) which are generally flawed, unreliable, and have no place in a formal psychological and counseling setting.

Psychological tests are usually administered and interpreted by a psychologist because studies in psychopathology, along with academic courses and supervision in psychological testing, are an integral part of the doctoral degree in clinical psychology. A counselor who has had the appropriate academic courses and supervision may administer occupational tests or achievement and aptitude tests, but most counselors have not received the training to administer personality tests. Academic courses and supervision in psychological testing are usually not a part of a psychiatrist’s medical training, so most psychiatrists can ethically administer only some specific clinical tests that are straight-forward check-lists of symptoms.